Creative Videography

Created with Canon 60D and shoulder-rig. Edited with Premiere and After Effects.

When my friends in Echo Courts released a new album, I offered to make a video for the single. I captured them playing the song in the studio and intercut it with footage of our friends looking through a hole in a tree. The concept was silly and the video was not as clean as it could be, yet I look back on this fondly.

I don't think I'll ever make a perfect video, whatever that means. But I can identify my weaknesses and make my worst work still pretty good work. After making this project, I thought a lot about my creative process and what I can do to make more quality work. That's what projects like this are all about. Plus, it was a lot of fun to make.

I set up a green screen in my apartment with all the intention of creating one of those vlogs, like a real Youtuber. I have to admit, as much as I wanted to be Casey Neistat, I just don't have as much going on in my life. I want to tell stories on the screen but I don't want to come off as a babbling jock with nothing to say. So as I sat down to write, I thought, "let's start with that."

I'm a huge fan of "The Charlie Rose Show." I love the infinity-black background, I love the intimate interview style, the table — everything. And what better way of dragging my Youtubing-anxiety out into the open and crushing it than by interviewing my anxiety Charlie Rose-style?

I know it sounds delusional, and I definitely felt like a psychopath as I recorded myself monologuing one direction, stopping to put on a suit, and doing it the other way. But I tried to have fun with it. I tried to tell a story and I tried to belittle my anxiety to the point that I could just be myself and not full of Youtuber self-doubt.

Donut Selfie, 2015

Created with a Canon 60D, Zoom H4N, Arri lighting kit and Final Cut Pro X.

Created during my undergraduate studies at UNCG, Donut Selfie sits somewhere between arthouse and drama. As my first real video project, Donut Selfie is both a testament to the playful power of collaboration and a personal milestone.

As I added characters and built a crew, the final script ended up being entirely different than my original treatment. Collaborators brought with them a sense of willingness and excitement that make Donut Selfie a joy to watch. I hope you agree.

Alive in the Kitchen, 2014

A collaboration between members of Elsewhere Art Museum, "Alive in the Kitchen" is a web series created for ACRE TV's Psychedelicatessen Special.

I contributed to the series in various capacities: as a writer, actor, gaffer and lighting director. You can find more episodes at the Alive in the Kitchen website.